Form grinding machine



July 24, 1956 s, 3, BRADY ET AL 2,755,599

FORM GRINDING MACHINE Filed Dec. 14, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet l FIG].

INVENTORS SAMUEL G.BRADY y IRENEUSZ M.RUDNICkI ATTORNEYS July 24, 1956 s. BRADY ET AL 2,755,599

FORM GRINDING MACHINE Filed Dec. 14, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet .2

IN V EN TORS SAMUEL G. BRADY IRENEUSZ M.RUDNICK| ATTORNEYS July 24, 1956 s. G. BRADY ETAL FORM GRINDING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 14, 1953 FIG.3.

INVENTORS SAMUEL G.BRADY BY IRENEUSZ mauomcm ATTORNEYS July 24, 1956 s. G. BRADY ET AL FORM GRINDING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 14, 1953 IN V EN TORS M 0 M U R R. BM 2 S U U E N E Sm V: B

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ATTO R N EYS Patented July 24, 1956 FORM GRINDING MACHINE Samuel G. Brady, Royal Oak, and Ireneusz M. Rudnicki,

Detroit, Mich., assignors to The Gear Grinding Machine Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application December 14, 1953, Serial No. 397,861

4 Claims. (Cl. 51-34 The invention relates to form grinding machines and has for its object the obtaining of a construction having various advantages as hereinafter set forth:

Among these advantages is a more convenient arrangement of the work carrier in relation to the grinder wheel or wheels, which facilitates loading with the work and the discharge of the ground work therefrom. More specifically, the work carrier is mounted on the bed of the machine at one side of the reciprocating carriage for the grinder wheel or wheels. The carriage has a cross carriage thereon and the grinder wheels are mounted on a cantilever arm projecting laterally from this cross carriage into operative relation to the work on the carrier.

With these and other advantageous features in view the invention consists in the construction as hereinafter set forth.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view partly in section of our improved form grinding machine;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation also partly in section;

Fig. 3 is a sectional end elevation;

Fig. 4 is an elevation of the work holder;

Fig. 5 is a cross-section on line 55, Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a cross-section on line 66, Fig. 4.

As illustrated A is the bed of the machine on a portion of which is mounted for reciprocation a carriage B. C is a rotary work carrier mounted on another portion of the bed at one side of the carrriage B and having its axis of rotation parallel with the direction of reciprocation. D is a cross carriage on the carriage B which has a cantilever arm E projecting therefrom towards the carriage C. F is an arbor for one or more grinder wheels which is journalled in a bearing E at the outer end of the cantilever arm to extend vertically above and below the same. G are grinder wheels mounted on the arbor F, and as specifically shown, there are two of these wheels G and G, respectively, above and below the cantilever arm. As specifically shown the carrier C comprises a hexagonal rotary member C extending between a housing C for an indexing mechanism and a pillow block C both of which are mounted on the bed with the axis of the rotary member parallel to the direction of reciprocation of the carriage B. On certain of the faces of the hexagonal member C, and as specifically shown on three equi-spaced faces are mounted work holders. These are so positioned that the work therein will be registered with the grinder wheels G and G in successive indexed positions of the carrier. The cross carriage D is moved towards or from the work by a feed mechanism H and the carriage B is reciprocated by suitable means, preferably a hydraulic cylinder and piston. Thus, in operation the work may be engaged with the work holder which is at the front of the machine and in successive index movements to first be placed into operative relation to the grinder wheel G, then in similar relation to the grinder wheel G, and finally returned to the front where it is unloaded.

While the machine as thus far described may be used for various grinding operations, we will specifically describe only one, which is the grinding of opposite side inner faces of channel members. As specifically shown the channel member I is provided with a shank portion I, the axis of which is slightly oblique to the axis of the channel. Also, the sides of the channel have transverse aligned apertures I therein with flared outer ends I The work holder is designed to receive and secure such member and preferably two of the members are simultaneously secured with their channel portions adjacent and in alignment with each other. The work holder includes blocks I, each having a V-shaped groove I in its outer face and positioned on one face of the hexagonal member C at the proper angle to receive the shank I when the channel portion I extends parallel to the axis of said member C. An L-shaped rock arm J is pivoted to the block at J and is rocked by a piston J in a hydraulic cylinder J the outer end of said piston being connected by a pivotal link I with said rock arm. The cylinder J may be mounted on an adjacent face of the hexagonal member C and the rock arm I when actuated thereby will clamp the shank I in the V-shapecl groove. Between the blocks J and adjacent to the aligned channels I there is mounted on the member C the hydraulic cylinder K with its axis transverse to the axis of said member. Pistons K in this cylinder have their shanks K projecting outward therefrom and connected to a bifurcated arm K which is slidable on guide rods K". At the upper ends of the furcations are secured pins K that are so positioned as to register with the apertures I of the channel members I. Thus, when the pistons K are moved inward or towards each other by the hydraulic fluid the pins K wil enter the apertures I and hold the channels rigidly in position.

As shown in Fig. 3, the several indexed positions of the work holders are l, 2 and 3. In position 1 the holder faces outward in position to receive the work which may be inserted therein either manually or by a suitable loading device, not shown. In position 2, the channel of the channel member extends at an oblique angle to the plane of rotation of the grinder Wheel G, and in position 3, the channel is at an opposite oblique angle to the plane of the grinder G. Also, the positioning is such that each grinder wheel will clear the outer end of one of the sides of the channel and will extend into the channel to peripherally contact with the inner face of the other side. If the periphery of the grinder wheel is trimmed to a corresponding oblique angle, its grinding face will be tangent to the inner face of the channel member, so that when the carriage B is reciprocated, it will grind the inner faces of both of the channel members. The grinder wheel G will grind the inner face of one side of the channel and the grinder wheel G will similarly grind the inner face of the opposite side of the channel. The grinder wheels may be fed into the work by the feed mechanism H. This feed mechanism may be of any suitable construction but, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, it includes a shaft H journalled within a housing H secured to the carriage B, an eccentric H on said shaft, a strap H engaging the eccentric and connected to a screw threaded rod H which in turn is connected to the cross carriage D through a nut H swivelled in a bearing H on said cross carriage. The shaft H is intermittently rotated through a hydraulically reciprocated rack H engaging a pinion H connected by a one-way clutch to said shaft H. There is also a manually operable feed including a hand wheel H on a shaft H connected by bevel gear wheels H with the nut H As this nut engages the threaded rod H and is also swivelled in the bearing H any rotation of the hand wheel will transmit movement to the cross carriage independent of its movement by the eccentric H The indexing mechanism C within the housing C may be of any suitable construction and will not be described in detail. The carriage B may be reciprocated and controlled by any suitable mechanism, but as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, this includes a hydraulic cylinder B and piston B the one secured to the carriage and the other to the bed. Bellows housings B and B attached to the carriage cover the ways on which it slides to protect the sum. The arbor F may be driven by an electric motor L mounted on the cross carriage and connected by a belt transmission L with said arbor. A tank M for the hydraulic fluid has an electric motor M mounted thereon which operates the pump (not shown) that supplies pressure fluid to the several hydraulic motors. As this construction forms no part of the invention it will not be further described. A trimming mechanism for the grinder wheels as shown is mounted on the pillow block C including the obliquely inclined guideways N and N which extend at the proper angle for the respective grinding wheels G and G. Slides on these guideways carry the diamond cutters N and as specifically shown the slides are formed by pistons N engaging hydraulic cylinders N constituting the guideways. These guideways may be rigidly mounted on the pillow block as the angles to which the grinder wheels are trimmed are not changed. If, however, it is desired for any reason to change the angles, suitable adjustment means may be provided.

The grinding machine as above described is adapted for grinding many other kinds of work as well as for grinding channel members as specifically described. In all of these the fact that the work carrier is mounted on the bed at one side of the carriage and that the grinder wheels are on a cantilever arm projecting from the carriage into operative relation to the work is advantageous over constructions in which all of these parts are in vertical alignment with the carriage.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. A grinding machine comprising a rotary work carrier, holders for channel work pieces spaced about said carrier and with the channels thereof extending parallel to the axis of said carrier, indexing mechanism for rotating said carrier step by step to advance the work in said holders between a plurality of stations including a loading and unloading station and a pair of stations spaced equally on opposite sides of an axial plane of said carrier, a pair of grinder wheels having a common axis which is perpendicular to said plane, said wheels having opposite oblique peripheral cross-sectional contours respectively registering with the channels of the work pieces at said pair of stations to contact opposite side faces of said channels and means for relatively reciprocating said grinder wheels and work carrier parallel to the axis of the latter to grind said opposite sides of work pieces at their respective stations and simultaneously grind sides at both stations.

2. The construction, as in claim 1, in which said carrier is polygonal with said holders mounted on different sides thereof.

3. The construction as in claim 2 adapted to grind a work piece having in addition to the channel portion with parallel sides a shank portion with its axis non-parallel to said sides in which a grooved block for engaging said shank is secured to a side of the carrier at an angle to hold said channel portion parallel to the carrier axis, clamping means for said shank in said groove, and means engaging the sides of said channel portion for holding them perpendicular to the carrier side on which they are mounted.

4. The construction, as in claim 3, provided with clamping means for the work mounted on sides intermediate those on which the work is mounted.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 871,522 Peirce Nov. 19, 1907 1,134,658 Woods Apr. 6, 1915 1,860,840 Marsilius May 31, 1932 1,945,471 Walls Jan. 30, 1934 2,007,827 Fletcher July 9, 1935 2,324,266 Muskovin July 13, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS 243,164 Great Britain Nov. 26, 1925 

